The Alger County Kiwanis Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit club within Kiwanis International, Wisconsin- Upper Michigan district.
Our mission: “Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.”
Our motto: “Serving the Children of the World.”
Our vision: “To be a positive influence so that one day, all children will wake up knowing they are believed in, nurtured and supported in all they do.”
The club is also a member of the Alger County Chamber of Commerce.
The Alger County Kiwanis Club was chartered in 1990 and still has three original members. Like other civic groups, it has seen a decline. However, the club continues to thrive because of the dedication of the members, old and new, and because of a very generous community filled with people and businesses with the same mindset.
The group holds regular meetings on the first, third, fourth and fifth Wednesdays of each month from noon to 12:50 p.m. in the Westminster Hall of the First Presbyterian Church. Anyone is welcome. The meetings feature local speakers. In addition, the club’s board meets at the same time on the second Wednesday of every month.
What does the Kiwanis Club do in Alger County? The group holds five fundraisers throughout the year hoping to raise at least $15,000, which all goes back into the community: Raffle Blitz, Grand Hotel Raffle, Koeze Nut and Schermer Pecan sales. And last year, Kiwanis joined the Munising Rotary Club in its annual Glass Bottom Boat Sunrise Cruise.
The Kiwanis Club has several community service projects: Adopt-A-Family Christmas, Adopt-A-Highway, Alger 4-H Garden, fall color and Christmas light tours for seniors in assisted living, Clear Lake Education Center, LMAS Baby Closet Baby Shower, Mather literacy program, Pictured Rocks Road Race, Special Olympics Polar Plunge, Valley Spur Taste & Glide and, partnering with the Munising Lions Club, Salvation Army bell ringing. The club is always looking for new projects to assist with.
The number of organizations Kiwanis helps financially each year is too many to list in this article. All requests for funds are brought to the board for review each month. They give a $1,000 scholarship to any Alger County graduate via the Alger Regional Community Foundation. They request a matching scholarship grant for $500 from Kiwanis District Foundation. This student must be in Key Club. The group has received KDF grants for big-ticket items like the Mather playground, two instruments for the Munising Middle/High School band, Mather science project and more.
Kiwanis International is unique in that it has various levels of leadership called Service Leadership Programs. SLPs are leadership and character-building programs hosted in a school or community agency and often sponsored by a Kiwanis Club or another civic organization. They are Aktion, adults with disabilities; Circle K International, college and university students; Key Club, students ages 14 to 18; Builders Club, students ages 11 to 14; and K-Kids, students ages 6 to 12.
The Alger County Kiwanis Club sponsors one SLP: Key Club at Munising High School. Key Club members pay their own dues to CKI, form a leadership board and have a teacher as their adviser. They host fundraisers for events like a Christmas party for the community children. They do a phenomenal job. They assist the Alger Club with its annual Signature Project: preparing the Clear Lake Education Center for the spring/summer groups by cleaning the facilities and campground after the tough winters. The Alger Club annually hosts and honors the Key Club officers and graduating members for lunch in May.
Alger Kiwanis is always looking for new members willing to collectively work toward providing a safe and rewarding experience for the children of Alger County.
For more information, visit Kiwanis Club of Alger County on Facebook or contact President Gale Rodgers at 229-296-5420.
